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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Poor mental health linked to reduced life expectancy

Public release date: 31-Jul-2012
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Contact: Jen Middleton
j.middleton@wellcome.ac.uk
44-207-611-7262
Wellcome Trust

People with mental health problems have a lower life expectancy, according to a large-scale population based study published today in the British Medical Journal. The findings may prompt further research into the way doctors treat patients with even mild psychological problems.

A team of researchers from UCL (University College London) and the University of Edinburgh analysed data from over 68,000 adults aged 35 years and over who took part in the Health Survey for England from 1994 to 2004.

Participants in the study had been evaluated for mental health problems using a recognised scale ranging from no symptoms to severe symptoms of depression and anxiety. The team then looked to see whether people who reported these symptoms during the study were more likely to have died over an 8 year period. They also examined whether there was an association with death from cardiovascular disease, cancer or from external causes of death.

Their results reveal that people who experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression had a lower life expectancy than those without any such symptoms. Even people with minor symptoms of mental health problems seemed to have a higher risk of death from several major causes, including cardiovascular disease.

Dr David Batty, a Wellcome Trust research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health at UCL and senior author on the study, explains: "These associations also remained after we did our best to take into account other factors such as weight, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption and diabetes. Therefore this increased mortality is not simply due to people with higher levels of psychological distress having poorer health behaviours."

There is a possibility that mental health problems may be associated with biological changes in the body that increase the risk of diseases such as heart disease.

In this study, approximately a quarter of people suffered from minor symptoms of anxiety and depression, however, these patients do not usually come to the attention of mental health services. The authors say that their findings could have implications for the way minor mental health problems are treated.

Dr Tom Russ, Alzheimer Scotland clinical research fellow at the University of Edinburgh, said: "The fact that an increased risk of mortality was evident, even at low levels of psychological distress, should prompt research into whether treatment of these very common, minor symptoms can reduce this increased risk of death."

Previous studies investigating the association between symptoms of mental health and life expectancy have been small and unable to reliably measure thresholds of risk. This is the largest study to address the problem to date.

John Williams, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the Wellcome Trust, said: "People with mental health problems are among the most vulnerable in society. This study highlights the need to ensure they have access to appropriate health care and advice so that they can take steps to improve the outcome of their illness."

Understanding the brain and finding improved approaches for treating brain and mental health disorders is one of the Wellcome Trust's five strategic research challenges.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Poor mental health linked to reduced life expectancy Public release date: 31-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jen Middleton
j.middleton@wellcome.ac.uk
44-207-611-7262
Wellcome Trust

People with mental health problems have a lower life expectancy, according to a large-scale population based study published today in the British Medical Journal. The findings may prompt further research into the way doctors treat patients with even mild psychological problems.

A team of researchers from UCL (University College London) and the University of Edinburgh analysed data from over 68,000 adults aged 35 years and over who took part in the Health Survey for England from 1994 to 2004.

Participants in the study had been evaluated for mental health problems using a recognised scale ranging from no symptoms to severe symptoms of depression and anxiety. The team then looked to see whether people who reported these symptoms during the study were more likely to have died over an 8 year period. They also examined whether there was an association with death from cardiovascular disease, cancer or from external causes of death.

Their results reveal that people who experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression had a lower life expectancy than those without any such symptoms. Even people with minor symptoms of mental health problems seemed to have a higher risk of death from several major causes, including cardiovascular disease.

Dr David Batty, a Wellcome Trust research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health at UCL and senior author on the study, explains: "These associations also remained after we did our best to take into account other factors such as weight, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption and diabetes. Therefore this increased mortality is not simply due to people with higher levels of psychological distress having poorer health behaviours."

There is a possibility that mental health problems may be associated with biological changes in the body that increase the risk of diseases such as heart disease.

In this study, approximately a quarter of people suffered from minor symptoms of anxiety and depression, however, these patients do not usually come to the attention of mental health services. The authors say that their findings could have implications for the way minor mental health problems are treated.

Dr Tom Russ, Alzheimer Scotland clinical research fellow at the University of Edinburgh, said: "The fact that an increased risk of mortality was evident, even at low levels of psychological distress, should prompt research into whether treatment of these very common, minor symptoms can reduce this increased risk of death."

Previous studies investigating the association between symptoms of mental health and life expectancy have been small and unable to reliably measure thresholds of risk. This is the largest study to address the problem to date.

John Williams, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the Wellcome Trust, said: "People with mental health problems are among the most vulnerable in society. This study highlights the need to ensure they have access to appropriate health care and advice so that they can take steps to improve the outcome of their illness."

Understanding the brain and finding improved approaches for treating brain and mental health disorders is one of the Wellcome Trust's five strategic research challenges.

###

[ | E-mail | Share ]
?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/wt-pmh073112.php
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Badminton's rock star: Lin Dan headlines London

LONDON (AP) ? The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Spice Girls, Beyonce ... and Lin Dan. Wembley Arena has rocked out to them all.

Lin, the closest thing badminton has to a rock star, turned the famed arena into his own mosh pit when the Chinese standout won one of the greatest finals in world championships history last year.

The thriller ended when he fought off two match points to deny Malaysian archrival Lee Chong Wei. Lin didn't let the drama end there: He ripped off his shirt with a guttural yell, embraced his coaches, pumped the air with two left hooks and saluted the still-applauding crowd.

Nearly a year later, he's headlining the arena again for the Olympics in hope of becoming the first man to retain the singles title.

He moved into the last 16 on Monday but he's still downplaying his chances for gold, especially for his 16 million followers on social media. But does the most decorated badminton player ever think about winning the London Games?

"Sometimes before I sleep at night, I would think about winning my second Olympic gold medal," he said. "However, I realized it was more important to remain focused on achieving my goal and not get carried away thinking too far ahead."

There was a time when impatience was his weakness. But training and maturity turned him into a winner of the Olympics, worlds, All England Open, Asian Games, and Thomas Cup ? each marked by a star tattooed on his left arm. When Lin won the Super Series Final last December, he became the first to complete what has been called the Super Grand Slam ? the winner of every major title available to an Asian, including the Sudirman Cup, World Cup and Asian championships. All by the age of 28.

His reputation's not entirely super, however. Lin has blemished his legacy through forfeits and retirements to help teammates: Seven times alone since late 2010. He's been accused of helping Chen Jin qualify for the last two Olympics by throwing the 2008 All England final and this year's Asian championships semifinal.

In fact, he's a bit of a bad boy: At the 2008 Korean Open final, Lin exchanged harsh words with South Korea's Chinese coach Li Mao after a disputed line call, threatening him and raising his racket. Then after losing, Lin scuffled with winner Lee Hyun-il. Three months later, Lin reportedly punched coach Ji Xinpeng in a pre-Olympic training camp.

Lin showed his class in the Beijing Games when he withstood the crush of expectations from home fans by crushing Chong Wei in the gold-medal final. Away from home, he expects to enjoy these London Games more.

"We have huge pressure when we play at home," he said. "All the people hope we can win every match and become champions. 'Champions, champions' is what we hear from them, or thinking about all the time. So the pressure gets bigger and bigger for us. In contrast, when we play abroad, play in a venue far from home, we feel relaxed. All we need to do is focus on the match itself."

Lin has had focus almost since he was born in southeast Fujian Province. The left-hander, who defied his parents' wish that he play piano, started badminton at the age of five. He was accepted into full-time badminton training at nine, and was picked for the national team at 18.

From the start he exhibited a quick-strike boldness, tactical nous and extraordinary footwork. Within three years of his senior international debut, he was ranked No. 1 in the world, in time for the Athens Olympics. He bombed in the first round but wasn't down for long. He became so successful, and one of China's highest-earning sportsmen, he had to register his name as a trademark in 2007 to stop it from being used by manufacturers without permission.

Since the Beijing Games, he's married Xie Xingfang, the retired two-time world champion and Beijing Olympic silver medalist, and concentrated more on titles than being No. 1. Hailed as the greatest badminton player, at least of this generation, he has stayed out of the spotlight in London. He looked relaxed though when he bumped into his friend Chong Wei outside their Wembley hotel and posed for pictures and compared expensive watches.

Their rematch in the final is the dream of fans. And one more chance to rock Wembley Arena.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/badmintons-rock-star-lin-dan-headlines-london-043920701--oly.html

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South Florida Food and Wine Events

And the food and wine events continue, things apparently aren?t slowing down one bit this?summer in South Florida, so keep that seatbelt fastened and those stretchy pants on because here is another list of food & drink events happening over the next week and beyond.

Key Largo Food & Wine Festival,?a 10-day festival that features a ?Dine Around Town? progressive dinner,??A Spanish Experience? and A?Caribbean-style night at sea aboard Island Time, a 78-foot paddlewheel river boat. The festival?s closing event is ?A Taste of Key Largo,? to be held on Sunday, August 5, from 4-8pm at the Sundowners bayside beach and restaurant complex. There, local chefs are to prepare signature dishes for visitors to sample as experts uncork a grand selection of wines. Live music, mixology demonstrations and summer cocktail tastings round out the evening on the water. Tickets to this event are $25 per person, including a souvenir tasting glass and gift bag.?For more event information?click here.

Miami Spice a restaurant promotion program kicks off on August 1 offering?three-course meals for lunch and dinner at a prix fixe. There are two categories this year, luxury and fine dining, Luxury Dining is the more expensive of the two. Miami Spice lunches are priced at?$19 or $23, and dinners are priced at $33 or $39. Click the Miami Spice link above to visit the website and to view the restaurants participating

The Federal Food Drink & Provisions?will host a 5-course wine dinner with Randall Grahm from Bonny Doon Vineyards on Thursday, August 4 from 7:30-10:30pm. Cost of the dinner is $75 plus gratuity.?5132 Biscayne Blvd. Miami.

III Forks Prime Steakhouse?has launched Martini Wednesdays, as part of its Spectacular Summer ?12.??Each week, a different specialty martini will be offered on Wednesdays for $5. ?Martini Wednesday?s is offered at?III Forks?at The Villages of Gulfstream Park, 501 Silks Run, Hallandale Beach and in Palm Beach Gardens at 4645 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens.

Anthony?s Coal Fired Pizza South Florida has priced their craft beers at 50% every Monday and Tuesday.

The Palms Aveda Spa and The Palms Hotel?brings back Sip & Spa starting on August 2nd through September 27th. Spa and salon treatments are 50% off from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays. Complimentary mini spa treatments will also be available on the Essensia Lounge Terrace.?For spa reservations call 305.908.5460.?Sipping & Snacking in the Essensia Lounge entices happy hour hunters with?50% off all cocktails and wine and a special $9 bar bites menu?from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. In addition, if you are taking advantage of any Spa treatments, as a Sip & Spa-er you will be?privy?to a?complimentary specialty cocktail station?between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.?Valet parking is $9.00 for Sip & Spa guests and complimentary if combined with dinner at?Essensia Restaurant.?The Palms Hotel & Spa?3025 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33140 Saturday, August 4 from 4-10 p.m.,

Taste of Brickell Food & Wine Festival?is presenting its Inaugural Burger, Beer & Balls Bash.?The Inaugural Burger, Beer & Balls Bash will take place at the historic Miami Circle (behind The Icon at Brickell), 401 Brickell Ave., Miami. It will feature over 25 local restaurants sampling burgers and meatballs, craft beers, a cooking demo on how to build a unique burger, and a burger eating contest by B&B Burger & Beer Joint at 7 p.m. (teams can apply for the contest at the Mary Brickell Village location).?To purchase tickets or for more information visit?Inaugural Burger, Beer & Balls Bash

This summer I have partnered with The?Capital Grille Fort Lauderdale?for a series of unique?Food & Wine Pairings?that will incorporate music and art. The wines will be from The Capital Grille?s summer wine program, The Generous Pour Wine Event (wines are listed below). I will guide guests on sensory pairings incorporating wine, food, music and art as I teach them to rely on their senses rather than tradition and routine. This final event in this series will be held on Monday, August 6, at 6:30pm; the event will be an hour and a half long, ending at 8pm. The Capital Grille is located at 2430 East Sunrise Boulevard in the Galleria Mall, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.?Fort Lauderdale?s Executive Chef, Marc Gruverman will prepare a special tasting menu; will taste six wines in the Generous Pour Wine series. The cost of the sensory pairing event is $50/person inclusive of tax and gratuity. Reservations for the event is through advance payment via the pay pal link at then end of this post.?Click here to pay and reserve your seat.

An Italian?wine dinner?at?D?Angelo Trattoria Delray Beach?will be held on Tuesday, August 7th, at 7pm. The dinner is $50.00 per person plus tax and gratuity. There is limited seating; reservations are required to attend, call 561-330-1237.?D?Angelo Trattoria?9 SE 7th Avenue , Delray Beach.

Wynwood Kitchen & Bar?will be hosting a four course beer dinner with Brown Distributing Company highlighting beers from the?Ommegang?portfolio and pouring the regular?Duvel?on Thursday, August 16, 2012. Cost of the dinner is $65 per person inclusive. Call for reservations 305-722-8959.?Wynwood Kitchen & Bar?2550 N.W. 2^nd?Avenue, Miami. Street parking and valet are available.

Source: http://www.southfloridafoodandwine.com/2012/07/south-florida-food-and-wine-events.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=south-florida-food-and-wine-events

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Warren Buffett and Madonna: A Tale of Two Philanthropists

Madonna in Malawi (AP Photo/George Ntonya)

The world closely watches when public figures make big philanthropic gestures?whether or not their efforts to do good meet with success. Just this week, all eyes were on Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates as they strove to increase charitable giving in India, and they kept right on watching as Madonna?s star-crossed attempt to build a boarding school for girls in Malawi failed.

Efforts by Buffett and the Gateses, which have yet to bear fruit, are part of their plan to encourage billionaires to focus more of their wealth on charitable causes. Madonna?s effort, run by a foundation set up by the singer to ameliorate the lack of education for girls in the African nation, has been abandoned.

On Thursday, The New York Times reported that Buffett and the Gateses sat down with some 70 of India?s wealthiest people in what was billed as a ?giving discussion? in the hope of stimulating a greater interest in philanthropy among them. This followed an earlier trip to China for the same purpose. And while these discussions have not yet shown to be successful, they look far likelier than Madonna?s school venture.

The foundation she began, Raising Malawi, together with the Kabbalah Centre International, which had joined with her on the project, has abandoned the attempt to build the planned $15 million school after $3.8 million has already been spent with nothing to show for it, according to another Times article on Thursday.

Inexperience with charity seems to be the byword in both instances. Large charitable donations in India make up only 0.6% of the nation?s GDP because many of the newest high-net-worth individuals are still fully engaged in running the businesses that have made them wealthy. In Madonna?s case in Malawi, a lack of management accountability for the money spent by her charity is what did it in.

Jayant Sinha, who is the head of the Indian office of Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm founded by Pierre Omidyar, of eBay fame, said in the Times report on Buffett and the Gateses: ?There are now some good examples of where people have put their money to very effective purposes, but they have had to work hard on the professionalization and the institutionalization of their philanthropic arms. There is no point giving it away if you can?t apply it well.?

The Global Philanthropy Group, which examined the disposition of funds from Raising Malawi at Madonna?s request when concerns developed last fall, criticized the foundation?s management. ?Despite $3.8 million having been spent by the previous management team, the project has not broken ground, there was no title to the land and there was, over all, a startling lack of accountability on the part of the management team in Malawi and the management team in the United States,? the group reported.

Madonna intends to continue charitable work in Malawi through her foundation, although its form will change in the wake of the abandoned project.

Good intentions are obviously not enough when launching a charitable concern. However, criticism is not always leveled just at shortcomings. Buffett and Gates have both been criticized by their peers?fellow billionaires?for their philanthropic push.

Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim Hel? has been reported as saying that creating jobs is more important than playing Santa Claus. But on Thursday Buffett dismissed such criticism, laughing and saying, ?You can create jobs and be Santa Claus at the same time. I mean, he employs 12 elves.?

Then Buffett (left) pointed out a salient point of philanthropy properly applied: ?When I give away my Berkshire Hathaway shares, they have no utility to me and great utility to others, and Berkshire Hathaway has all the money to invest that it has had before.?

On a recent trip to India, Investment Advisor writer Savita Iyer-Ahrestani noted that the radical economic and social changes that India has been going through in the past years are also resulting in an increased Westernization of both the population and the financial landscape.

On her travels, she met with Abhay Aima, Mumbai-based head of the wealth management business at HDFC, one of India's largest private sector banks, who told her that anyone looking to achieve success in India ?needs to understand that you are talking about five countries in one.?

"One has to understand the Indian psyche, Indian society,? Aima told Iyer-Ahrestani. ?Things like the joint family structure; the dependence of parents on their children; the dowry system; that there is a group of people called the Jains who won't invest in pharmaceutical companies because they do animal testing. You have to be aware of these ethnic differences, you cannot just lift a financial planning model from another country and expect it to work here unless you understand these peculiarities."

Source: http://www-top10stocks.blogspot.com/2012/07/warren-buffett-and-madonna-tale-of-two.html

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Roadblock trying to refinance through HARP - Zillow Mortgage Advice

This issue has came up a few time in the last few months. We are able to close this loan. We will use the address that is on the old note and upload the USPS address showing they are one of the same. As long as DU can read ?"old" property it should not be a problem. We would simple upload a letter of explanation and explain why there is an address discrepancy. Please review my profile.

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Roadblock-trying-to-refinance-through-HARP/453475/

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